Particularly when the fuel cell is operated with an anode gas containing hydrogen, it can be necessary to remove hydrogen from selected areas of the fuel cell device. For example, after switching off the fuel cell device, it can be necessary to flush the hydrogen out of the anode gas path in order to remove hydrogen residues. Such a fuel cell device is disclosed in the translation of the publication of international application DE 11 2008 000 254 T5. Moreover, it can be necessary to flush the housing that surrounds the membrane-electrode assembly so that hydrogen that has exited the anode gas path can be removed from the housing. Such a fuel cell device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. Appln. No. 2007/0231628 A1.
In order to be able to convey the flushing gas to the housing as well as away from the housing, it is a known procedure in the state of the art to provide lines that convey the flushing gas and to provide other components that, for example, filter the flushing gas. However, these additional lines or other additional components of the flushing gas path complicate the layout of the fuel cell device and they require additional installation space. However, precisely when the fuel cell device is intended for mobile use, for example, in an automobile, the installation space is limited.